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Sen. Bernie Sanders says Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary is “completely separated from the reality that ordinary Americans are experiencing” during the debut episode of the new MeidasTouch program, On Sunday with Jack Cocchiarella (1).
The 84-year-old independent senator from Vermont was shown a clip (2) from O’Leary’s appearance on The Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett, in which the Canadian-American businessman scolded younger workers for buying lunch.
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“I can’t stand it when I see kids that are making 70 grand a year spending $28 for lunch. I mean, that’s just stupid,” O’Leary said. “Think about that in the context of that being put into an index and making 8 to 10% a year for the next 50 years.”
Sanders, who has spent much of the past year on a nationwide ”Fighting Oligarchy” tour (3) alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, used the clip as a jumping-off point for his broader argument about the political power of the ultra-wealthy.
“They have no clue. They live in their own world,” Sanders said, referring to hyper-rich figures like O’Leary, whose net worth is reportedly in the ballpark of $150 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth (4).
“Because many of them are smart and they work hard and they’ve made a lot of money, you know what they think? They think they have the divine right to rule.”
Back of the napkin
O’Leary isn’t necessarily wrong. Instead of spending $28 on a single lunch, that same money invested in an S&P 500 index fund, assuming an annual return of 8%, would grow to roughly $800,000 over 50 years (5).
The problem is the salary in O’Leary’s example. The median household income for Americans ages 15 to 24 is below $50,000 in more than half of US cities, according to a SmartAsset analysis of 2024 Census data (6).
The Federal Reserve’s most recent Distributional Financial Accounts (7) show the top 1% of U.S. households controlled 31.7% of national wealth in the third quarter of 2025 — the highest share since the Fed began tracking the data in 1989, as CBS News reported earlier this year (8). By contrast, the bottom 50% holds roughly 2.5%.
“Many of these guys do not believe in democracy,” Sanders told Cocchiarella, admitting he’s unsure if O’Leary feels this way specifically. “Their attitude is, ‘Hey, I am worth a couple of hundred billion dollars. I have enormous power. I’m determining the future of the world. You think that I’m gonna submit to some vote that you cast? It ain’t gonna happen that way. I run the world, kid, and you better understand that.’”
Read More: Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can become a landlord for $100 — without the headache of actually being one
Pushing back on America’s oligarchs
Sanders has been fighting economic inequality for decades, but has focused increasingly on America’s wealthiest business leaders since Donald Trump’s second inauguration in January 2025, when Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg (9) were seated prominently at the ceremony.
Sanders, along with Rep. Ro Khanna, has introduced legislation that would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on billionaires (10). The proposal would reportedly raise about $4.4 trillion over a decade. Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Ocasio-Cortez also drew more than 261,000 attendees (11) across roughly 40 stops through the end of last year.
“Don’t even use the word ‘businesspeople,’” Sanders said when Cocchiarella referred to figures like O’Leary that way. “The guy down the shop who owns a mom and pop is a business guy. Somebody who owns a company with 30 people is a businessperson. These people are not businesspeople. They are oligarchs.”
Sanders says the wealth gap has warped the political process beyond what most voters recognize.
“What you have right now is these guys not only control the economy, not only control increasingly the media to shape what the discussion will be,” Sanders said. “The points you’re making are on the minds of tens of millions of Americans. They ain’t being discussed on CBS or NBC a whole lot. And not going to be discussed in Musk’s world as well. So we have got to force discussion on these issues.”
Sanders closed with a simple question: “It’s our world, not Mr. Musk’s and not Mr. Bezos’. What kind of world do we want?”
Brace your finances for this affordability crisis
Sanders’ comments may strike a chord with many Americans because they reflect a reality millions are already experiencing: It’s becoming harder to get ahead.
According to a 2026 study by the Urban Institute, 49% of American families don’t have the resources to achieve economic security (12).
And the increasingly turbulent geopolitical landscape is only adding to the uncertainty.
The strain is already showing up in consumer sentiment. The share of Americans who said they were “somewhat worse off” or “much worse off” financially than a year earlier reached its highest level since January 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest survey of consumers (13).
The good news is that while you can’t control inflation, global events or economic policy, you can take steps to strengthen your own financial foundation regardless of what O’Leary or Sanders say.
Keep investing consistently
When money feels tight, investing is often one of the first things people put on hold. This is especially true as 53% of Americans can’t cover a sudden $1,000 emergency expense, according to a survey conducted by Bankrate (14).
But investing even small amounts consistently can make a big difference over time. For instance, saving and investing just $20 per week for 30 years could grow to more than $179,000 if it compounds at 10% annually (15). This is a lot more reasonable than O’Leary’s $28 dollar a day commandment.
And platforms like Acorns make it easier than ever to automate the process by turning your spare change from everyday purchases into an investment opportunity.
Signing up takes just minutes: All you have to do is link your cards, and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference into a diversified portfolio managed by experts at leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.
With Acorns, you can invest in an S&P 500 ETF with as little as $5 — and, if you sign up today and set up a recurring investment, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you begin your investment journey.
Track where your money is going
One of the biggest challenges during an affordability crisis is that rising costs can quietly eat away at your budget without you realizing exactly where the money is going.
Budgeting and tracking are the first steps to spotting spending habits that may have made sense when prices were lower, but are now putting unnecessary strain on your finances. Even a handful of small monthly subscriptions, delivery fees, or impulse purchases can add up to hundreds of dollars over the course of a year.
If you’re looking for a way to structure your spending, you can consider creating a custom budget with Monarch Money.
Once you link your accounts — including investments and real estate — you will be able to view every transaction through one clean, searchable list. This way, you can spot any unexpected charges, such as unwanted subscriptions, quickly and seamlessly.
You can also forecast your spending beyond just one month.
And the best part? You can begin with a seven-day free trial to see if Monarch Money is right for you. And if you like the platform, you can get 50% off for your first year with the code WISE50.
Audit your fixed costs
One reason you may be feeling squeezed financially is the quietly rising cost of recurring expenses. Housing, insurance, utilities and transportation have all climbed significantly, meaning even households that haven’t changed their spending habits may still be paying substantially more each month.
Take insurance, for example. According to the Pew Research Center, 71% of U.S. homeowners say their homeowners’ insurance costs have increased in recent years, including 42% who say those increases have been substantial (16).
The good news is that fixed expenses aren’t always as fixed as they seem. Shopping around for better rates, bundling policies or adjusting your coverage could help lower your monthly costs without requiring major lifestyle changes.
That’s where platforms like OfficialHomeInsurance come in.
You can compare rates and features on home insurance policies from top providers near you for free within minutes.
Here’s how it works: Answer a few basic questions about yourself and your home, and the platform will comb through its database of over 200 insurers to display the lowest rates available. On average, you could save $482 by comparing rates.
If you have a car, you could benefit from shopping around for car insurance rates, too. By comparing quotes and selecting the best deal, customers could see average potential savings of $1,100.
You can easily shop around and compare quotes offered by reputable insurance providers through Insurify.
Just answer a few basic questions, and Insurify will show you the most affordable deals in as little as three minutes.
Not only is the process 100% free, but you could also save up to 15% by bundling your car and home insurance.
Create another source of income
Cutting expenses can help, but there’s a limit to how much you can reduce your spending. Increasing your income, on the other hand, can create additional financial flexibility without forcing you to sacrifice your lifestyle.
While a side hustle may work for some people, many Americans simply don’t have the time or energy to commit to a second job.
For those looking for passive income opportunities with less day-to-day involvement, real estate can be a compelling option. And you don’t need to save up for a down payment or take on an additional mortgage to invest in real estate and earn rental income.
Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived allow you to invest in shares of vacation and rental properties across the country with as little as $100.
Arrived distributes any rental income generated by properties to investors monthly, allowing you to potentially set up a passive income stream without the extra work that comes with being a landlord.
The best part? For a limited time, when you open an account and add $1,000 or more, Arrived will credit your account with a 1% match.
— With files from Dave Smith
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
YouTube (1); The Christian Post (2); Bernie Sanders (3); Celebrity Net Worth (4); Fortune (5); SmartAsset (6); FRED Economic Data (7); CBS News (8); Inside Climate News (9); Financial Freedom Countdown (10); Wikipedia (11); Urban Institute (12); CNN (13); Bankrate (14); Acorns (15); Pew Research Center (16)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
